Paging in extended coverage

ABSTRACT

Exemplary embodiments include methods for paging of a communication device in a coverage area served by a radio access network (RAN) node. Such embodiments include receiving, from a core network node, an indication of which of the following modes of operation are supported by the communication device: Extended-Coverage Global System for Mobile communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT) mode; and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and/or Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) mode. Embodiments also include, based on the indication and on a capability of the coverage area to support said following modes of operation, determining at least one of the following: whether to page the communication device in the coverage area; and a channel for paging the communication device in the coverage area. Other embodiments include complementary methods performed by a core network node, as well as RAN nodes and core network nodes configured to perform any of the exemplary methods.

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit ofpriority from, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/759,948 filed on Mar.14, 2018, which is a U.S. national-stage application claiming priorityto international application PCT/SE2016/051041 filed on Oct. 26, 2016,which claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/248,332filed on Oct. 30, 2015. The entire disclosures of the above-mentionedapplications are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate to network nodes and methods therein forimproved paging. More specifically embodiments herein relate to paging acommunication device in extended coverage.

BACKGROUND

In a typical radio communications network, communication devices, alsoknown as Mobile Stations (MSs) and/or user equipments (UEs), communicatevia a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more Core Networks (CN). Theradio access network covers a geographical area which is divided intocoverage areas, such as cell areas, with each coverage area being servedby a base station, e.g., a radio base station (RBS), which in somenetworks may also be called, for example, a “NodeB” or “eNodeB”. A cellis a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radiobase station at a base station site or an antenna site in case theantenna and the radio base station are not collocated. Each cell isidentified by an identity within the local radio area, which isbroadcast in the cell. Another identity identifying the cell uniquely inthe whole mobile network is also broadcasted in the cell. One basestation may have one or more cells. A cell may be downlink and/or uplinkcell. The base stations communicate over an air interface operating onradio frequencies with the user equipments within range of the basestations.

A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a thirdgeneration mobile communication system, which evolved from the secondgeneration (2G) Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM).

General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is a packet oriented mobile dataservice on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global systemfor mobile communications (GSM).

Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) also known as Enhanced GPRS(EGPRS), or International Mobile Telecommunications Single Carrier(IMT-SC), or Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution is a digitalmobile phone technology that allows improved data transmission rates asa backward-compatible extension of GSM.

The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) is essentially a RANusing wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High SpeedPacket Access (HSPA) for user equipments.

In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP),telecommunications suppliers propose and agree upon standards for thirdgeneration networks and UTRAN specifically, and investigate enhanceddata rate and radio capacity.

The project covers cellular telecommunications network technologies,including radio access, the core transport network, and servicecapabilities—including work on codecs, security, quality of service—andthus provides complete system specifications. The specifications alsoprovide hooks for non-radio access to the core network, and forinterworking with Wi-Fi networks.

In some versions of the RAN as e.g. in UMTS and GSM, several basestations may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to acontroller node, such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a basestation controller (BSC), which supervises and coordinates variousactivities of the plural base stations connected thereto. The RNCs orBSCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.

Specifications for Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completedwithin the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and are furtherevolved in coming 3GPP releases. The EPS comprises the Evolved UniversalTerrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), also known as the LTE radioaccess, and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), also known as SystemArchitecture Evolution (SAE) core network. E-UTRAN/LTE is a variant of a3GPP radio access technology wherein radio base station nodes aredirectly connected to the EPC network, i.e. a radio network controllerconcept as realized in UMTS with a Radio Network Controller (RNC) doesnot exist. In general, in EPS the functions of an RNC are distributedbetween eNBs and the core network. As such, the RAN of an EPS has anessentially “flat” architecture comprising radio base stations withoutbeing controlled by RNCs.

Machine Type Communications (MTC) is an area within telecommunications,sometimes also referred to as M2M or Internet of Things (IoT), in whichit is envisioned that all types of devices which may potentially benefitfrom communicating will do so. That is, everything from agricultureand/or industrial sensors and actuators to things in the smart home orworkout gauges in the personal networks will be connected wirelessly.

MTC has in recent years shown to be a growing market segment forcellular technologies, especially for GSM and Enhanced Data Rates forGSM Evolution (EDGE) with its global coverage, ubiquitous connectivityand price competitive devices.

With more and more diverse MTC applications, more and more diverse setof MTC requirements arise. Among these there is a low-end market segmentcharacterized by some or all of the following requirements compared withthe current GSM technology:

-   -   Extended coverage    -   Long battery life    -   Low device complexity    -   Large number of connected devices

Today's cellular systems are not always suitable for new applicationsand devices that follow with MTC and Internet of Things (IoT). Forexample, there is an objective to increase the coverage compared toexisting services. In telecommunications, the coverage of a basestation, is the geographic area where the base station is able tocommunicate with wireless devices. Some MTC networks are envisioned tobe deployed in extreme coverage circumstances, such as basements ofbuildings or beneath the ground where radio signals suffer from severeattenuation.

At the 3GPP meeting GERAN#67 a new work item called ‘New Work Item onExtended Coverage (EC) GSM (EC-GSM) for support of Cellular Internet ofThings’ was approved with the intention to improve coverage with 20 dB,to improve battery life time and to decrease device complexity. Laterthe name EC-GSM was changed to Extended-Coverage Global System forMobile communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT), and these twonames will be used interchangeably hereafter.

Cellular Internet of Things' provides IoT by means of a cellular system,such as EC-GSM-IoT.

An extended coverage, e.g. a coverage range beyond that of legacyGPRS/EGPRS operation may be achieved by blind physical layer repetitionsin both uplink and downlink. The number of repetitions may be associatedto a given Coverage Class (CC).

On a control channel, i.e. on an EC control channel, the coverage may beimproved using blind physical layer repetitions of radio blocks while ona data channel, i.e. on an EC data channel, the coverage may be improvedusing a combination of blind physical layer repetitions and HARQretransmissions of radio blocks. “Blind Physical Layer Repetitions”means that a predetermined number of repetitions are sent blindly, i.e.without feedback from the receiving end.

Logical channels supporting operation in extended coverage are referredto as Extended Coverage channels (EC-channels).

Taking the example of EC-GSM-IoT four different Coverage Classes aredefined denoted as CC1, CC2, CC3 and CC4 respectively. Each CoverageClass is approximated with a level of extended coverage range comparedto legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation. I.e. each Coverage Class represents acertain amount of degradation of a signal over noise ratio compared tolegacy GPRS/EGPRS operation, e.g. 3 dB, such that the number of blindphysical layer repetitions associated with each Coverage Class isproportional to its corresponding degradation compared to legacyGPRS/EGPRS operation. For example, for the EC Packet Data TrafficCHannel (EC-PDTCH) CC1 corresponds to one single transmission, CC2corresponds to 4 transmissions, whereof 3 repetitions, also referred toas retransmissions, CC3 corresponds to 8 transmissions, whereof 7repetitions, and CC4 corresponds to 16 transmissions, whereof 15repetitions. Thus, CC1 corresponds to the coverage range of legacyGPRS/EGPRS operation, i.e. extended coverage not used.

Further, in EC-GSM-IoT a fixed predefined number of blind physical layerrepetitions are applied per logical channel and per Coverage Class. Thenumber of blind physical layer repetitions may differ between logicalchannels for the same Coverage Class.

The approach of blind physical layer repetitions on the EC-channels willresult in a decrease in the data rates and thus longer latenciescompared to the legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation for sending and receivingmessages between the network, such as the core network, and the mobilestations. Non Access Stratum (NAS) messages are messages that are senttransparently via the radio access network between the mobile stationand the core network, e.g. a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN). The NASmessages are supervised by timers defined in 3GPP TS 24.008 v13.3.0Technical Specification Group Core Network and Terminals; Mobile radiointerface Layer 3 specification; Core network protocols; Stage 3.

An independent solution for improving battery life time is extended DRX(eDRX) which allows a communication device to go into a sleep modebetween paging occasions.

When a communications network tries to send data traffic to acommunication device, the communications network uses a pagingprocedure, where a paging message, also referred to as a paging requestmessage or page, is sent from a core network through a base station tothe communication device. The paging message lets the RAN, e.g. the basestation, and the communication device know that the core network islooking for the communication device. The communication device isexpected to listen to a paging channel at certain time instants in orderto receive the paging message. The paging message sent from the corenetwork to the RAN does not necessarily comprise the same information asthe paging message sent from the RAN to the communication device. On aGb interface, i.e. between the SGSN and a Base Station System (BSS) theterm PAGING-PS PDU is used. On the radio interface there are presently 4messages used for paging: EC PAGING REQUEST message for EC, PAGINGREQUEST TYPE 1, PAGING REQUEST TYPE 2, PAGING REQUEST TYPE 3. The choiceof messages depends on type of device how many communication devicesthat are paged and with which identity (IMSI or P-TMSI).

In the interest of simplicity it is assumed that all communicationdevices supporting extended coverage GSM will also support eDRX.However, eDRX may still be supported by the communication device when itdoes not support extended coverage GSM.

From a network perspective, when eDRX is supported it may be deployed inall cells within a Routing Area while EC-GSM-IoT may be deployed on acell level basis. In other words within a BSS coverage area, such as aRouting Area, there may be cells supporting eDRX but not EC-GSM-IoT.

EC-GSM-IoT may be introduced as a software update on legacy GPRS/EPGRSterminals. This means that initially there will be communication devicessupporting both legacy GPRS/EGPRS mode as well as EC-GSM-IoT mode. Assuch, depending on device capability there will be limitations regardingwhich mode that may be used in a cell that supports only one or both ofthese modes.

A communication device and/or a cell that only supports EC-GSM-IoT modeis one that only supports the use of paging on the Extended CoveragePaging Channel (EC-PCH), an optimized RLC protocol, i.e. specific to theEC-GSM-IoT feature, and relaxed mobility management procedures on theassigned radio resources.

Similarly, a communication device and/or a cell that only supportslegacy GPRS/EGPRS mode is one that only supports the use of the pagingon the PCH, i.e. not on the EC-PCH, the legacy RLC protocol and legacymobility management procedures on the assigned radio resources.

In order to reach a communication device supporting EC-GSM-IoT the BSSmay send a page, such as an EC PAGING REQUEST message, to communicationdevices in an appropriate paging group. The page may be based on anappropriate coverage class. The SGSN may provide the coverage class in apage request, such as a PAGING-PS PDU, which it sends to the radioaccess network node 111. This means that the radio access network node111 may take into account both eDRX and coverage class informationprovided in the PAGING-PS PDU to determine the specific set of EC-PCHradio resources to use when sending a corresponding page on the radiointerface.

The SGSN may be provided with the current coverage class information forany given communication device whenever the BSS sends an UL-UNITDATA PDUcomprising an uplink LLC PDU sent by that communication device. The SGSNmay then include relevant cell ID and coverage class information in thePAGING-PS PDU(s).

In order to reach a communication device supporting EC-GSM-IoT the BSSmay send the page using the appropriate coverage class.

EC-GSM-IoT communication devices, when located in a cell that supportsEC-GSM-IoT, will search for paging messages on the EC-PCH channel whichis mapped on a time slot (TS1) which is different from the legacy pagingchannel (TS0).

A communication device supporting eDRX and EC-GSM-IoT may wake up in acell that doesn't support EC-GSM-IoT which means that the only relevantpaging channel is the legacy paging channel on time slot 0 (2,4,6). I.e.legacy paging channels make use of time slot 0 at minimum but systeminformation may indicate that one or more of time slots 2, 4 or 6 mayalso be used as paging channels.

This in turn implies that in order to reach the communication device thepage is to be sent on the legacy paging channel.

The decision to send out a page request is made by a core network node,such as the SGSN. The paging strategy in the SGSN is implementationdependent, e.g. when the SGSN knows that the communication device islocated in a small subset of cells the page request may only be sent tothat particular subset of cells. Similarly, when the location of thecommunication device is unknown the SGSN may e.g. decide to send out thepage in the entire routing area.

If the SGSN knows that the device is located in one specific cell thenpaging is not necessary, which for example is the case when the ReadyTimer is running.

In some scenarios the SGSN provides an indication of more than one cellin the page request, such as a PAGING-PS PDU to the BSS along withCoverage Class information and an indication of an eDRX cycle.

If GPRS/EGPRS and/or eDRX is supported in a given cell, which is part ofthe Routing Area or the BSS area that the Paging-PS PDU message isdirected to, but EC-GSM-IoT is not supported in the given cell the BSSdoes not know which paging channel the device is listening on andtherefore it does not know if it is reachable in that given cell.

In other words, the communication device may be located in the givencell and may be listening to the legacy paging channel (TS0), or it maynot be reachable in that cell.

The BSS then has no choice but to either send the page on the legacypaging channels of that cell simply hoping that the communication deviceis reachable therein or not send a page in that cell realizing that thecommunication device could in practice actually be reachable therein.

In the latter scenario the paging success rate will decrease if thecommunication device also supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation while inthe former scenario the BSS may waste valuable paging resources if thecommunication device does not support legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation.

SUMMARY

A similar problem occurs e.g. when the SGSN sends a PAGING-PS PDUindicating paging on Routing Area, BSS area or when the communicationdevice previously only camped on cells supporting eDRX and legacyGPRS/EGPRS.

In such scenarios the BSS doesn't know if the paging request messagesshould be sent on the PCH or EC-PCH in cells supporting both legacyGPRS/EGPRS and EC-GSM-IoT.

From the coverage class information included in the PAGING-PS PDU theBSS knows whether the communication device supports EC-GSM-IoT.

However, the BSS does not know whether or not an EC-GSM-IoTcommunication device also supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation,therefore the BSS does not know which paging channel the communicationdevice is listening on and therefore it does not know if it is reachablein that given cell.

It is an object of embodiments herein to solve or reduce at least someof the problems mentioned above. For example, is may be an object ofembodiments herein to avoid paging failure, improve paging success rateand reduce waste of paging resources in a communications network.

In the following, paging of a communication device may refer totransmitting the page request from the core network to a radio accessnetwork node, but it may also refer to determining a channel fortransmitting the page and to transmitting the page from the radio accessnetwork node to the communication device.

According to a first aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a method performed by a core network node for paging of acommunication device in a communications network.

The core network node obtains an indication of a support level of thecommunication device. The support level indicates whether or not thecommunication device supports a specific mode of operation of a RadioAccess Technology (RAT).

The core network node transmits a page request to a radio access networknode. The page request comprises the indication of the support level ofthe communication device, whereby the radio access network node isassisted in determining a channel for paging, based on the indication ofthe support level of the communication device.

According to a second aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a core network node configured to perform the methodaccording to the first aspect.

That is, the core network node is configured to obtain an indication ofa support level of the communication device. The support level indicateswhether or not the communication device supports a specific mode ofoperation of a RAT.

The core network node is further configured to transmit a page requestto a radio access network node. The page request comprises theindication of the support level of the communication device.

According to a third aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a method performed by a radio access network node for pagingof a communication device in a coverage area, such as a cell, served bythe radio access network node in a communications network.

The radio access network node receives a page request from a corenetwork node. The page request comprises an indication of a supportlevel of the communication device. The support level indicates whetheror not the communication device supports a specific mode of operation ofa RAT.

The radio access network node further determines, based on theindication of the support level of the communication device, and basedon a capability of the coverage area to support the specific mode ofoperation of the RAT, a channel for paging the communication device inthe coverage area, or not to page the communication device in thecoverage area.

According to a further aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a radio access network node for paging of a communicationdevice in a coverage area served by the radio access network node in acommunications network.

That is, the radio access network node is configured to perform themethod according to the third aspect.

The radio access network node is configured to receive a page requestfrom a core network node. The page request comprises an indication of asupport level of the communication device. The support level indicateswhether or not the communication device supports a specific mode ofoperation of a RAT.

The radio access network node is further configured to determine, basedon the indication of the support level of the communication device, andbased on a capability of the coverage area to support the specific modeof operation of the RAT, a channel for paging the communication devicein the coverage area, or not to page the communication device in thecoverage area.

According to a further aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, whenexecuted on at least one processor, causes the at least one processor tocarry out the method performed by the core network node.

According to a further aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a carrier comprising the computer program, wherein thecarrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radiosignal or a computer readable storage medium.

According to a further aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a computer program, comprising instructions which, whenexecuted on at least one processor, causes the at least one processor tocarry out the method performed by the radio access network node.

According to a further aspect of embodiments herein, the object isachieved by a carrier comprising the computer program, wherein thecarrier is one of an electronic signal, an optical signal, a radiosignal or a computer readable storage medium.

Since the page request comprises an indication of the support level ofthe communication device the radio access network node is able todetermine a channel to use for paging the communication device based onthe indication of the support level of the communication device. Bydoing so paging failure is avoided in the communications network.

An advantage of embodiments herein is an improved paging success rateand/or less waste of paging resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of embodiments herein are described in more detail withreference to attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a communicationsnetwork.

FIG. 2a is a combined signalling diagram and flow chart illustratingembodiments of a method.

FIG. 2b is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments herein.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of a method performed by acore network node.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting embodiments of methods performed by aradio access network node.

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a corenetwork node.

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating embodiments of a radioaccess network node.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments herein may be implemented in one or more communicationsnetworks whereof FIG. 1 depicts parts of a communications network 101.The communications network 101 may be a telecommunications network orsimilar, such as a wireless communications network also known as a radiocommunications network. The communication network 101 may comprise oneor more RAN and one or more CN.

The communications network 101 may operate according to a specific RAT.The wireless communication network 101 is exemplified herein as a GSMnetwork.

Even though GSM/EDGE will be used herein as examples of the RAT it maybe possible to apply the embodiments described herein to other RATs.Such RATs may e.g. in particular be Narrow Band Internet of Things(NB-IoT), formerly known as Narrow Band LTE (NB-LTE) and NB Cellularsystem support for ultra-low complexity and low throughput Internet ofThings NB-CIoT, as defined in 3GPP Technical Report 45.820 on Cellularsystem support for ultra-low complexity and low throughput Internet ofThings (CIoT), chapter 7.3 and 7A. Other NAS protocols may be used suchas the NAS protocol for Evolved Packet System described in 3GPP TS24.301 v13.3.0, Technical Specification Group Core Network andTerminals; Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) protocol for Evolved Packet System(EPS); Stage 3.

The communication network 101 may use a number of other differenttechnologies, such as Wi-Fi, Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile Broadband(UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations.

In the communications network 101, network nodes capable ofcommunicating with communication devices operate. For example, a radioaccess network node 111 capable of communicating with communicationdevices operates in the communications network 101. The radio accessnetwork node 111 is configured to operate in the communications network101.

In some embodiments the radio access network node 111 comprises severalphysical network nodes. For example, in some embodiments applicable toGSM the radio access network node 111 is a BSS also referred to as aBase Station Subsystem. Then the radio access network node 111 maycomprise a first radio access network node 112 and a second radio accessnetwork node 113. The first radio access network node 112 may be a BaseTransceiver Station (BTS) and the second radio access network node 113may be a Base Station Controller (BSC) or a Packet Control Unit (PCU).The first radio access network node 112 may also be referred to as aradio base station and e.g. a NodeB, an eNB, eNode B, Access Point BaseStation, base station router, or any other network unit capable ofcommunicating with communication devices.

In some other embodiments the radio access network node 111 is orcomprises a radio access network node that communicates with thecommunication devices via another radio access network node. In thiscase the radio access network node 111 may for example be a RadioNetwork Controller (RNC) in an UMTS network. The RNC is not shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 1 further illustrates coverage areas of the radio access network. Acoverage area is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided bythe radio access network, e.g. by the first radio access network node111, for communication with communication devices located therein. E.g.the first radio access network node 112 provides radio coverage in afirst coverage area 121, such as a first cell. In FIG. 1 the first radioaccess network node 112 further provides radio coverage in a secondcoverage area 122, such as a second cell.

A coverage area is a geographical area where radio coverage is providedby network node equipment such as WiFi AP equipment, base stationequipment at a base station site or at remote locations in Remote RadioUnits (RRU). The first radio access network node 112 is an example ofsuch network node equipment.

As mentioned above eDRX and legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation may be deployedin all coverage areas within a Routing Area while EC-GSM-IoT may bedeployed on a coverage area level basis. In other words within acoverage area of the radio access network node 111, such as a RoutingArea, there may be coverage areas supporting eDRX but not EC-GSM-IoT.

In embodiments herein, the first and second coverage areas 121, 122 mayeach support different RATs and/or different modes of operation of aRAT. For example, in a scenario herein the first coverage area 121supports EC-GSM-IoT, while the second coverage area 122 only supportsGPRS/EGPRS. Other scenarios may also be described below.

FIG. 1 further illustrates a core network node 115, such as a SGSN,being responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to thecommunication devices, such as mobile stations, within its geographicalservice area. Its tasks may comprise packet routing and transfer,mobility management (attach/detach and location management), logicallink management, and authentication and charging functions. The locationregister of the SGSN stores location information, e.g., current coveragearea, current Visitor Location Register (VLR), and user profiles, e.g.,International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), address(es), used inthe packet data network of all GPRS users registered with it.

The radio access network node 111 may communicate with communicationdevices, such as a communication device 140, e.g. when located in thefirst coverage area 121 served by the first radio access network node112.

The communication device 140, which also may be known as a mobilestation, wireless device, a wireless communications device, a userequipment and/or a wireless terminal, is capable of communicating withthe communications network 101.

There may of course be more than one communications device thatcommunicates with the wireless communications networks.

It should be understood by the person skilled in the art that“communication device” is a non-limiting term and it refers to any typeof device communicating with a radio network node, such as a radioaccess network node, in a cellular or mobile communication system.

The communication device 140 may e.g. be a mobile terminal, a mobilephone, a computer such as e.g. a laptop, a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA) or a tablet computer, sometimes referred to as a surf plate, withwireless capability, or any other radio network unit capable tocommunicate over a radio link in a wireless communications network.

Further examples of the communication device 140 may be MachineCommunication (MTC) device, Machine to Machine (M2M) device, a Device toDevice (D2D) terminal, or node, target device, device to device UE, MTCUE or UE capable of machine to machine communication, iPAD, tablet,smart phone, Laptop Embedded equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment(LME), USB dongles, sensor, relay, mobile tablets or even a small basestation.

As mentioned above, EC-GSM-IoT may be introduced as a software update onlegacy GPRS/EPGRS terminals, such as the communication device 140. Inparticular this means that initially there will be communicationdevices, such as the communication device 140, supporting both legacyGPRS/EGPRS mode as well as EC-GSM-IoT mode. As such, depending on devicecapability there will be limitations regarding which mode that may beused in a coverage area that supports only one or both of these modes.

In some embodiments herein the communication device 140 supportsGPRS/EGPRS. In some other embodiments herein the communication device140 supports EC-GSM-IoT. In yet some further embodiments herein thecommunication device 140 supports both EC-GSM-IoT and GPRS/EGPRS.

Embodiments below will be exemplified with GSM/EDGE as thecommunications network 101. The core network node 115 will beexemplified with an SGSN, but generally it may be another core networknode serving the communication device 140 as well. For example forNB-IoT the applicable core network node may also be an MME. The radioaccess network node 111 is exemplified with a BSS and the communicationdevice 140 will be exemplified with a mobile station, sometimes alsoreferred to as the device.

It should be noted that the following embodiments are not mutuallyexclusive. Components from one embodiment may be tacitly assumed to bepresent in another embodiment and it will be obvious to a person skilledin the art how those components may be used in the other exemplaryembodiments.

In a scenario herein the communication device 140 has moved from thefirst coverage area 121 to the second coverage area 122. This isindicated by the arrow in FIG. 1.

The radio access network node 111 may control a set of coverage areas,such as a set of cells, wherein some coverage areas support EC-GSM-IoTand some only support legacy GPRS/EGPRS or some support bothEC-GSM-IoT+legacy GPRS/EGPRS. For example, the radio access network node111 may control the first coverage area 121 and the second coverage area122.

In embodiments wherein the coverage areas 121, 122 are exemplified withcells, the radio access network node 111 may control the first cell andthe second cell. Within the set of cells some cells support EC-GSM-IoTand some only support legacy GPRS/EGPRS or some support bothEC-GSM-IoT+legacy GPRS/EGPRS.

Embodiments herein solve or reduce at least some of the problemsmentioned above by adding an indication in a page request sent from thecore network node 115 to the radio access network node 111 thatidentifies the support level of the communication device 140, i.e.whether legacy GPRS/EGPRS is supported or not and whether EC-GSM-IoT issupported or not. As mentioned above, the paging message lets the RAN,e.g. the radio access network node 111, and the communication device 140know that the core network node 115 is looking for the communicationdevice 140.

If the indicator indicates that an EC-GSM-IoT device, such as thecommunication device 140, also supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS operation thenthe radio access network node 111 will know if there is any point inpaging the communication device 140 in coverage areas, such as cells,where only GPRS/EGPRS and/or eDRX is supported but not EC-GSM-IoT. Thatis the radio access network node 111 will know if the communicationdevice 140 listens to a paging channel that is supported by the coverageareas where only eDRX is supported but not EC-GSM-IoT.

Similarly, if the indicator indicates that the communication device 140supports EC-GSM-IoT then the radio access network node 111 will knowthat the paging request message shall be sent on the EC-PCH channels incoverage areas, such as cells where both eDRX and EC-GSM-IoT issupported, i.e. where both GPRS/EGPRS and EC-GSM-IoT is supported.

Actions for paging of the communication device 140 in the communicationsnetwork 101 according to embodiments herein will now be described inrelation to FIG. 2a , and with continued reference to FIG. 1.

Action 201 a

The communication device 140 may transmit a coverage class, of thecommunication device 140 to the radio access network node 111, e.g. in aRACH request or uplink LLC PDU.

This may be done, by the communication device 140, in order for theradio access network node 111 to use the correct coverage class whentransmitting a subsequent page across the air interface.

Action 201 b

As mentioned above, the core network node 115 may be provided with thecoverage class information for the communication device 140 by the radioaccess network node 111, e.g. in an UL-UNITDATA PDU comprising theuplink LLC PDU sent by the communication device 140 in action 201 a. Inthis way the core network node 115 may later in action 204 control whichspecific set of EC-PCH radio resources the radio access network node 111uses for sending a page on the radio interface.

Action 201 b is related to action 301 below.

Action 202 a

The communication device 140 may provide an indication of a supportlevel of the communication device 140, such as an indication of whetheror not the communication device 140 supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS orEC-GSM-IoT or both to the core network node 115. This indication may beprovided transparently via the radio access network node 111, e.g. atRouting Area Update in a legacy MS Radio Access Capability (RAC) IE orin a new EC-GSM-IoT MS RAC IE.

In this way the core network node 115 may later in action 204 controlwhich channel the radio access network node 111 shall use for paging thecommunication device 140 by including the support level of thecommunication device 140 in a page request.

Action 202 b

As mentioned above in action 202 a, the radio access network node 111may obtain the indication of the support level of the communicationdevice 140 from the communication device 140. In that case the radioaccess network node 111 may transparently relay the indication of thesupport level to the core network node 115, e.g. at Routing Area Updatein the legacy MS RAC IE or in the new EC-GSM-IoT MS RAC IE mentionedabove.

Action 202 b is related to action 202 a above and action 302 below.

Action 203 a

The core network node 115 may determine to send a page request 220 tothe communication device 140 via the radio access network node 111. Forexample the core network node 115 may have obtained a paging trigger forthe communication device 140 due to an incoming call. FIG. 2billustrates an example of the page request 220. The page request maye.g. be a PAGING-PS PDU-message.

The page request 220 comprises an indication of a support level 221 ofthe communication device 140. That is, the indication of the supportlevel 221 identifies the support level of the communication device 140.For example, the indication of the support level 221 may be theindication of whether or not the communication device 140 supportslegacy GPRS/EGPRS or EC-GSM-IoT or both.

Since the page request 220 comprises the indication of the support level221 of the communication device 140 the core network node 115 enablesthe radio access network node 111 to determine a channel to use forpaging the communication device 140 based on the indication of thesupport level of the communication device 140. By doing so pagingfailure is avoided in the communications network 101.

Action 203 a is related to action 303 below.

Action 203 b

The page request 220 may comprise an indication of a coverage capability222 of the communication device 140. For example, the core network node115 may determine whether to include the coverage class information inthe page request 220 to the radio access network node 111, such as in aPAGING-PS PDU.

By including the coverage capability 222 the core network node controlswhich specific set of EC-PCH radio resources the radio access networknode 111 uses for sending a page on the radio interface.

Action 203 b is related to action 303 below.

Action 204

The core network node 115 transmits the page request 220 to the radioaccess network node 111.

The page request 220, such as the PAGING-PS PDU, may further comprisecell identities 223 of cells in which the radio access network node 111shall page the communication device 140.

The page request 220 may further comprise an eDRX cycle 224.

The specific set of radio resources that the radio access network node111 use on the EC-PCH when sending the corresponding page on the radiointerface may be further based on the cell identities 223 and on theeDRX cycle 224.

As an alternative the complete legacy MS RAC IE or the new EC-GSM-IoT MSRAC IE may be comprised in the PAGING-PS PDU sent from the core networknode 115 to the radio access network node 111.

Action 204 is related to actions 304 and 401 below.

Action 205

The radio access network node 111 determines a channel to use for pagingthe communication device 140 based on the indication of the supportlevel 221 of the communication device 140.

The radio access network node 111 may determine the channel to use forpaging the communication device 140 further based on the indication ofthe coverage capability 222, such as the coverage class of thecommunication device 140, and further based on the cell identities 223.

As mentioned above in action 204, the specific set of EC-PCH radioresources to use when sending the corresponding page on the radiointerface may be based on the above indications.

Thus, based on the information provided to the radio access network node111 in the page request 220 the radio access network node 111 knowswhether the communication device 140 supports legacy GPRS/EGPRSoperation and/or EC-GSM-IoT. Thus the radio access network node 111knows whether there is any point in paging the communication device 140in coverage areas, such as cells where only GPRS/EGPRS and/or eDRX issupported but not EC-GSM-IoT. Further, since the page request comprisesthe indication of the support level 221, the radio access network node111 knows on which channel, PCH or EC-PCH, to send the paging requestmessage when the page request 220 does not include any coverage classspecific information. For example, if the communication device 140supports EC-GSM-IoT, and the second coverage area 122 only supportsGPRS/EGPRS, then there is no point in paging the communication device140 on the PCH in the second coverage area 122. Further examples will begiven below.

Action 205 is related to action 402 below.

Action 206

In embodiments wherein a channel for paging the communication device 140has been determined the radio access network node 111 pages thecommunication device 140 on the determined channel. That is, the radioaccess network node 111 transmits a page request to the communicationdevice 140 on the determined channel.

Action 206 is related to action 403 below.

Embodiments relating to a method performed by the core network node 115for paging of the communication device 140 in the communications network101 will now be described with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 3 andwith continued reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 b.

Action 301

The core network node 115 may obtain an indication of the coveragecapability 222, such as the coverage class, of the communication device140. The indication of the coverage capability 222 may be received frome.g. the radio access network node 111. The coverage class may comprisean UL Coverage Class and a DL Coverage Class.

Action 301 is related to actions 201 a and 201 b above.

Action 302

The core network node 115 obtains an indication of the support level 221of the communication device 140. The support level indicates whether ornot the communication device 140 supports the specific mode of operationof the Radio Access Technology, RAT.

The indication of the support level 221 may be an indication of whetheror not the communication device 140:

-   -   only supports EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation, or    -   only supports GPRS, and/or EGPRS, mode of operation, or    -   supports both EC-GSM-IoT and GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of        operation.

In other words, the indication of the support level may be an indicationof whether or not the communication device 140 supports paging on theEC-PCH or the PCH.

The indication of the support level may be received from e.g. the radioaccess network node 111.

Action 302 is related to actions 202 a and 202 b above.

Action 303

The core network node 115 may determine to send the page request 220 tothe communication device 140 via the radio access network node 111.

The core network node 115 may further determine whether to include theindication of the coverage capability 222 in the page request 220 to theradio access network node 111, such as in the Paging-PS PDU.

Action 303 is related to actions 203 a and 203 b above.

Action 304

The core network node 115 transmits the page request 220 to the radioaccess network node 111. The page request 220 comprises the indicationof the support level of the communication device 140.

Since the page request 220 comprises the indication of the support levelof the communication device 140 the core network node 115 enables theradio access network node 111 to determine the channel to use for pagingthe communication device 140 based on the indication of the supportlevel of the communication device 140. By doing so paging failure isavoided in the communications network 101.

Transmitting the page request 220 may performed by transmitting thePAGING-PS PDU-message, where PS is an abbreviation for Packet Switched.Furthermore, “PDU” is used herein as an abbreviation for “protocol dataunit,” as defined in 3GPP TR 21.905 (“Vocabulary for 3GPPSpecifications”) that is referenced by various other 3GPP documentsidentified herein, including 3GPP TR 45.820 and 3GPP TS 24.301. The pagerequest 220 may further comprise the indication of the coveragecapability 222 of the communication device 140. The coverage capabilitymay be taken into account by the radio access network node 111 when itdetermines which channel, such as which logical channel, to use forpaging.

The page request 220 may further comprise an indication of an identityof the coverage area, such as the second coverage area 122, in whichcoverage area the paging shall be performed.

The indicated coverage area may comprise coverage areas that supportdifferent modes of operation of the RAT. For example, coverage areassupporting only EC-GSM-IoT, coverage areas supporting only legacyGPRS/EGPRS and coverage areas supporting both modes of operation.

The page request 220 may further comprise an indication of thediscontinuous receive cycle 224 associated with the communication device140. The discontinuous receive cycle 224 may be an extendeddiscontinuous receive cycle, such as an eDRX cycle. The discontinuousreceive cycle 224 indicates in which paging group the paging messageshould be sent to the communication device 140, i.e. when in time it isto be sent.

Action 304 is related to action 204 above and to action 404 below.

Embodiments herein will now be described with reference to FIG. 4 whichillustrates a flowchart that describe methods performed by the radioaccess network node 111 for paging of the communication device 140 inthe coverage area 121, 122, served by the radio access network node 111,in the communications network 101.

Action 401

The radio access network node 111 receives the page request 220 from thecore network node 115. The page request 220 comprises the indication ofthe support level of the communication device 140. The support levelindicates whether or not the communication device 140 supports thespecific mode of operation of the RAT.

As mentioned above, the indication of the support level may be anindication of whether or not the communication device 140:

-   -   only supports EC-GSM-IoT, mode of operation, or    -   only supports General Packet Radio Services, GPRS, and/or EGPRS,        mode of operation, or    -   supports both EC-GSM-IoT and GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of        operation.

In some embodiments receiving the page request 220 is performed byreceiving the PAGING-PS PDU.

Action 401 is related to action 204 above.

Action 402

The radio access network node 111 determines, based on the indication ofthe support level 221 of the communication device 140, and based on thecapability of the coverage area 121, 122 to support the specific mode ofoperation of the RAT, the channel EC-PCH, PCH for paging thecommunication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122, or not to pagethe communication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122.

Action 402 is related to action 205 above.

Action 402 a

In some embodiments the communication device 140 supports only GPRSand/or EGPRS mode of operation, then the radio access network node 111determines to page the communication device 140 on the PCH, in thecoverage area 121, 122, if the coverage area 121, 122 supports GPRSand/or EGPRS.

In some other embodiments the communication device 140 only supportsEC-GSM-IoT mode of operation, then the radio access network node 111determines to page the communication device 140 on the EC-PCH, in thecoverage area 121, 122, if the coverage area 121, 122 supportsEC-GSM-IoT.

In yet some other embodiments the communication device 140 supports bothGPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation,then the radio access network node 111 determines to page thecommunication device 140 on the EC-PCH in the coverage area 121, 122, ifthe coverage area 121, 122 supports only EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation,and to page the communication device 140 on the PCH in the coverage area121, 122, if the coverage area 121, 122 supports only GPRS and/or EGPRSmode of operation.

In some further embodiments the communication device 140 supports bothGPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.Then the radio access network node 111 determines to page thecommunication device 140 on the EC-PCH in the coverage area 121, 122 ifthe coverage area 121, 122 supports both EC-GSM-IoT mode of operationand GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation, and if the page request 220comprises a downlink coverage class of the communication device 140.

Action 402 a is related to action 205 above.

Action 402 b

As mentioned above, in some embodiments the radio access network node111 determines, based on the indication of the support level 221 of thecommunication device 140, and based on the capability of the coveragearea 121, 122 to support the specific mode of operation of the RAT notto page the communication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122.

Action 402 b is related to action 205 above.

Action 403

The radio access network node 111 may page the communication device 140on the determined channel EC-PCH, PCH.

However, if the indication of the support level 221 of the communicationdevice 140 is not compatible with the capability of the coverage area121, 122 then the radio access network node 111 may refrain from pagingthe communication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122. That is, ifthe radio access network node 111 has determined not to page thecommunication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122 in action 402 babove, then the radio access network node 111 does not page thecommunication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122.

Action 403 is related to action 206 above.

In summary, embodiments herein solve or reduce at least some of theproblems mentioned above by adding an indication in a page request sentfrom the core network node 115 to the radio access network node 111 thatidentifies the support level of the communication device 140, e.g.whether legacy GPRS/EGPRS is supported or not and whether EC-GSM-IoT issupported or not.

In some following embodiments, coverage areas will be exemplified withcells.

In some embodiments the downlink coverage class information is onlyincluded in the PAGING-PS PDU when the core network node 115 requeststhe radio access network node 111 to page using the EC-PCH for aspecific subset of cells indicated by the PAGING-PS PDU. I.e. when thePAGING-PS PDU comprises downlink coverage class information it willspecifically identify the subset of cells for which the radio accessnetwork node 111 is to send paging request messages using the EC-PCH andusing the indicated coverage class.

When the radio access network node 111 receives the page request 220 theradio access network node 111 takes into account its knowledge of cellcapability plus device related information, such as IMSI, eDRX cyclelength in use, DL coverage class and the indicator indicating whether ornot the communication device 140 supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS and/orEC-GSM-IoT. Alternatively the complete legacy MS RAC IE or the newEC-GSM-IoT MS RAC IE may be taken into account. In that way, the radioaccess network node 111 may determine how to proceed as shown in Table 1below.

If the core network node 115 knows that none of the cells managed by agiven radio access network node 111 receiving the PAGING-PS PDU,supports EC-GSM-IoT, then the DL coverage class may be excluded.However, the core network node 115 may leave it up to the radio accessnetwork node 111 to make this determination and so it may always beincluded as long as the core network node 115 has knowledge of the DLcoverage class of the communication device 140 being paged. The radioaccess network node 111 decides to page the communication device 140using the PCH or the EC-PCH or not to page at all, based on the supportlevel of the communication device 140, and based on the support level ofthe cell. This is summarised in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 Paging decisions in radio access network node 111 Cell supportsCell supports Cell supports eDRX + EC-GSM-IoT eDRX + legacy eDRX +legacy (but not legacy GPRS/EGPRS GPRS/EGPRS GPRS/EGPRS (but notEC-GSM-IoT) and EC-GSM-IoT) Device supports Page requests No pagerequests Page request eDRX + sent on EC-PCH are sent on radio sent onEC-PCH EC-GSM-IoT interface (but not legacy GPRS/EGPRS) Device supportsPage requests Page requests Page request eDRX + sent on EC-PCH sent onPCH sent on EC-PCH if EC-GSM-IoT + PAGING-PS PDU legacy GPRS/EGPRSmessage comprises the downlink coverage class Device supports No pagerequests Page requests Page request eDRX + legacy are sent on radio senton PCH sent on PCH GPRS/EGPRS interface (but not EC-GSM-IoT)

If the PAGING-PS PDU message is only addressed to one cell managed bythe radio access network node 111, then the core network node 115explicitly indicates that the paging message shall be sent to that cellby addressing that specific cell in the PAGING-PS PDU. In this caseseveral options disclosed below are possible.

The core network node 115 may send PAGING-PS PDUs to multiple radioaccess network nodes 111 where the number of cells managed by any givenradio access network node 111 ranges from 1 to N, where N is a positiveinteger. Then the core network node 115 is free to indicate that onlyone cell should be paged when sending the PAGING-PS PDU to the specificradio access network node 111 as the precise location of a targetdevice, such as the communication device 140, is not known at the timewhen the core network node 115 triggers paging.

-   -   A) If the PAGING-PS PDU message comprises the downlink coverage        class and the indicated cell supports EC-GSM-IoT then the radio        access network node 111 shall page the communication device 140        using the EC-PCH of the cell indicated by the PAGING-PS PDU and        use the indicated downlink coverage class information.    -   The radio access network node 111 may optionally widen the        paging area indicated by the core network node 115 in an        implementation specific manner. The radio access network node        111 may optionally also send paging request messages on the PCH        in neighboring cells only supporting legacy GPRS/EGPRS if it        determines that the communication device 140 also supports        legacy GPRS/EGPRS.    -   B) If the PAGING-PS PDU message does not comprise downlink        coverage class information then the radio access network node        111 shall page the communication device 140 using the PCH of at        least the cell indicated by the PAGING-PS PDU if that cell        supports legacy GPRS/EGPRS but not EC-GSM-IoT. The radio access        network node 111 may optionally page the communication device        140 on the EC-PCH in neighboring cells supporting EC-GSM-IoT if        the PAGING-PS PDU indicates that the communication device 140        also supports EC-GSM-IoT and on the PCH in neighboring cells        only supporting legacy GPRS/EGPRS.

If the PAGING-PS PDU does not include downlink coverage classinformation and the indicated area is the Routing Area or BSS area, i.e.several cells, the radio access network node 111 may first determine thesupport level of the communication device 140, before sending the page.

-   -   A) If the communication device 140 supports only legacy        GPRS/EGPRS then the paging request message from the BSS should        be sent on the PCH in all cells supporting legacy GPRS/EGPRS and        not at all in cells supporting EC-GSM-IoT.    -   B) If the communication device 140 only supports EC-GSM-IoT then        the paging request message should be sent on the EC-PCH in cells        supporting either only EC-GSM-IoT or both EC-GSM-IoT and legacy        GPRS/EGPRS and not at all in cells only supporting legacy        GPRS/EGPRS.    -   C) If the communication device 140 supports both legacy        GPRS/EGPRS and EC-GSM-IoT the paging request message should be        sent on EC-PCH in cells supporting EC-GSM-IoT and on the PCH in        cells were only legacy GPRS/EGPRS is supported.

Embodiments described above apply to the specific case where there aremultiple coverage areas, such as cells, comprised in the paging area,e.g. the Routing Area, managed by one or more radio access network nodes111.

Advantages of Embodiments Herein

An advantage of embodiments herein is an improved paging success rateand/or less waste of paging resources.

The method for paging of the communication device 140 in the coveragearea 121, 122, served by the radio access network node 111, in thecommunications network 101 described above, may be performed by the corenetwork nod 115. The core network node 115 may comprise the modulesdepicted in FIG. 5 for paging of a communication device 140.

The core network node 115 is configured to, e.g. by means of theobtaining module 510 configured to, obtain an indication of a supportlevel 221 of the communication device 140, which support level indicateswhether or not the communication device 140 supports a specific mode ofoperation of the RAT.

Thus action 301 may be performed by means such as the obtaining module510 in the core network node 115. The determining module 520 may beimplemented by the processor 580 in the core network node 115,optionally in combination with a receiver 560 b, in the core networknode 115.

Further, action 303 above to determine to send the page request 220 tothe communication device 140 may be performed by means such as adetermining module 520 in the core network node 115. The determiningmodule 520 may be implemented by the processor 580 in the core networknode 115.

The core network node 115 is further configured to, e.g. by means of atransmitting module 530 a configured to, transmit, a page request 220 toa radio access network node 111, wherein the page request 220 comprisesthe indication of the support level of the communication device 140.

The core network node 115 may further be configured to, e.g. by means ofthe transmitting module 530 a configured to, transmit the page request220 by being configured to transmit a PAGING-PS PDU.

Thus action 304 may be performed by means such as the transmittingmodule 530 a in the core network node 115. The transmitting module 530 amay be implemented by the transmitter 560 a, in the core network node115.

The method for paging of the communication device 140 in the coveragearea 121, 122, served by the radio access network node 111, in thecommunications network 101 described above, may be performed by theradio network node 111. The radio network node 111 may comprise themodules depicted in FIG. 6 for paging of a communication device 140.

The radio network node 111 is configured to, e.g. by means of anobtaining module 610 configured to, receive a page request 220 from acore network node 115, wherein the page request 220 comprises anindication 221 of a support level of the communication device 140, whichsupport level indicates whether or not the communication device 140supports a specific mode of operation of the RAT.

The radio network node 111 may be configured to, e.g. by means of theobtaining module 610 configured to, receive the page request 220 bybeing configured to receive a PAGING-PS PDU.

The obtaining module 610 may be implemented by a processor 680 in theradio access network node 111.

The radio network node 111 is further configured to, e.g. by means ofthe determining module 620 configured to, determine, based on theindication of the support level 221 of the communication device 140, andbased on a capability of the coverage area 121, 122 to support thespecific mode of operation of the RAT, a channel EC-PCH, PCH for pagingthe communication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122, or not topage the communication device 140 in the coverage area 121, 122.

In some embodiments the communication device 140 supports only GPRSand/or EGPRS mode of operation. Then the radio network node 111 isfurther configured to, e.g. by means of the determining module 620configured to, determine to page the communication device 140 on aPaging Channel, PCH, in the coverage area 121, 122, if the coverage area121, 122 supports GPRS and/or EGPRS.

In some other embodiments the communication device 140 only supportsEC-GSM-IoT mode of operation. Then the radio network node 111 is furtherconfigured to, e.g. by means of the determining module 620 configuredto, determine to page the communication device 140 on an ExtendedCoverage PCH, EC-PCH, in the coverage area 121, 122, if the coveragearea 121, 122 supports EC-GSM-IoT.

In yet some other embodiments the communication device 140 supports bothGPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.Then the radio network node 111 is further configured to, e.g. by meansof the determining module 620 configured to, determine to page thecommunication device 140 on an EC-PCH in the coverage area 121, 122, ifthe coverage area 121, 122 supports only EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation,and determine to page the communication device 140 on a PCH in thecoverage area 121, 122, if the coverage area 121, 122 supports only GPRSand/or EGPRS mode of operation.

Further, if the communication device 140 supports both GPRS and/or EGPRSmode of operation and EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation, and the coveragearea 121, 122 supports both EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation and GPRS and/orEGPRS mode of operation, and if the page request 220 comprises adownlink coverage class of the communication device 140, then the radionetwork node 111 is further configured to, e.g. by means of thedetermining module 620 configured to, determine to page thecommunication device 140 on the EC-PCH in the coverage area 121, 122.

The determining module 620 may be implemented by the processor 680 inthe radio access network node 111.

The radio network node 111 may further be configured to, e.g. by meansof the paging module 630 configured to, page the communication device140 on the determined channel EC-PCH, PCH.

The paging module 630 may be implemented by the processor 680 in theradio access network node 111.

The embodiments herein may be implemented through one or moreprocessors, such as the processor 580 in the core network node 115depicted in FIG. 5, and the processor 680 in the radio access networknode 111 depicted in FIG. 6 together with computer program code forperforming the functions and actions of the embodiments herein. Theprogram code mentioned above may also be provided as a computer programproduct 591, 691, for instance in the form of a data carrier carryingcomputer program code 592, 692, for performing the embodiments hereinwhen being loaded into the core network node 115 and the radio accessnetwork node 111. One such carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc.It is however feasible with other data carriers such as a memory stick.The computer program code may furthermore be provided as pure programcode on a server and downloaded to the core network node 115 and radioaccess network node 111.

Thus, the methods according to the embodiments described herein for thecore network node 115 and the radio access network node 111 may beimplemented by means of a computer program product, comprisinginstructions, i.e., software code portions, which, when executed on atleast one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out theactions described herein, as performed by the network node 115 and theradio access network node 111. The computer program product may bestored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readablestorage medium, having stored there on the computer program, maycomprise the instructions which, when executed on at least oneprocessor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actionsdescribed herein, as performed by the core network node 115 and theradio access network node 111. In some embodiments, thecomputer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium.

The core network node 115 and the radio access network node 111 mayfurther each comprise a memory 590, 690, comprising one or more memoryunits. The memory 590, 690 is arranged to be used to store obtainedinformation such as coverage class, support level, coverage area IDs,timers, eDRX, and applications etc. to perform the methods herein whenbeing executed in the core network node 115 and the radio access networknode 111.

When using the word “comprise” or “comprising” it shall be interpretedas non-limiting, i.e. meaning “consist at least of”.

Modifications and other embodiments of the disclosed embodiments willcome to mind to one skilled in the art having the benefit of theteachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associateddrawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiment(s)is/are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and thatmodifications and other embodiments are intended to be included withinthe scope of this disclosure. Although specific terms may be employedherein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation.

Therefore, the above embodiments should not be taken as limiting thescope, which is defined by the appending claims.

Note that although terminology from 3GPP EC-GSM-IoT has been used inthis disclosure to exemplify the embodiments herein, this should not beseen as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein to only theaforementioned network types. Other wireless network types may alsobenefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

Also note that terminology such as a first radio access network node anda second radio access network node should be considered to benon-limiting and does in particular not imply a certain hierarchicalrelation between the two.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for paging of a communicationdevice in a coverage area served by a radio access network (RAN) node,the method comprising: receiving, from a core network node, anindication of which of the following modes of operation are supported bythe communication device: Extended-Coverage Global System for Mobilecommunications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT) mode of operation, andGeneral Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and/or Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) modeof operation; and based on the indication and on a capability of thecoverage area to support said following modes of operation, determiningat least one of the following: whether to page the communication devicein the coverage area; and a channel for paging the communication devicein the coverage area.
 2. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: based on determining to page the communication device,paging the communication device on the determined channel.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the determining operation comprisesdetermining to page the communication device on a legacy Paging Channel(PCH) in the coverage area based on one of the following: an indicationthat the communication device supports only the GPRS and/or EGPRS modeof operation; or a capability of the coverage area to support the GPRSand/or EGPRS mode of operation but not the EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.4. The method according to claim 3, wherein determining to page thecommunication device on a legacy Paging Channel (PCH) in the coveragearea is further based on one of the following: a capability of thecoverage area to support both the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operationand the EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation; or an indication that thecommunication device supports both the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode ofoperation and the EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.
 5. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the determining operation comprises determining topage the communication device on an Extended Coverage Paging Channel(EC-PCH) in the coverage area based on the following: an indication thatthe communication device only supports the EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation;and a capability of the coverage area to support the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determiningoperation comprises determining to page the communication device on anExtended Coverage Paging Channel (EC-PCH) in the coverage area based onthe following: an indication that the communication device supports boththe GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation; and the existence of one of the following conditions: acapability of the coverage area to support the ECGSM-IoT mode ofoperation but not the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation; or acapability of the coverage area to support both the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation and the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation, and theindication is received together with a downlink coverage class of thecommunication device.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein theindication is received in a PAGING-PS protocol data unit (PDU).
 8. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the PAGING-PS PDU further comprisesat least one of the following: a coverage class of the communicationdevice; identities of one or more cells in which the communicationdevice should be paged; and an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX)cycle of the communication device.
 9. The method according to claim 8,further comprising, based on determining to page the communicationdevice in the coverage area, determining one of the following based theinformation comprising the PAGING-PS PDU: a channel for paging thecommunication device; a set of cells for paging the communicationdevice; and a set of radio resources for paging the communicationdevice.
 10. A radio access network (RAN) node arranged to page acommunication device in a coverage area served by the RAN node, whereinthe RAN node comprises: at least one processor; and a computer-readablestorage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the at least one processor, configure the RAN node to:receive, from a core network node, an indication of which of thefollowing modes of operation are supported by the communication device:Extended-Coverage Global System for Mobile communications Internet ofThings (EC-GSM-IoT) mode of operation, and General Packet Radio Services(GPRS) and/or Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) mode of operation; and based on theindication and on a capability of the coverage area to support saidfollowing modes of operation, determine at least one of the following:whether to page the communication device in the coverage area; and achannel for paging the communication device in the coverage area. 11.The RAN node according to claim 10, wherein execution of theinstructions further configures the radio access network node to, basedon determining to page the communication device, page the communicationdevice on the determined channel.
 12. The RAN node according to claim10, wherein execution of the instructions configures the RAN node todetermine to page the communication device on a legacy Paging Channel(PCH) in the coverage area based on one of the following: an indicationthat the communication device supports only the GPRS and/or EGPRS modeof operation; or a capability of the coverage area to support the GPRSand/or EGPRS mode of operation but not the EC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.13. The RAN node of claim 12, wherein execution of the instructionsconfigures the RAN node to determine to page the communication device ona legacy Paging Channel (PCH) in the coverage area further based on oneof the following: a capability of the coverage area to support both theGPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation; or an indication that the communication device supports boththe GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation.
 14. The radio access network node according to claim 10,wherein execution of the instructions configures the RAN node todetermine to page the communication device on an Extended CoveragePaging Channel (EC-PCH) in the coverage area based on the following: anindication that the communication device only supports the EC-GSM-IoTmode of operation; and a capability of the coverage area to support theEC-GSM-IoT mode of operation.
 15. The RAN node according to claim 10,wherein execution of the instructions configures the radio accessnetwork node to determine to page the communication device on anExtended Coverage Paging Channel (EC-PCH) in the coverage area based onthe following: an indication that the communication device supports boththe GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation and the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation; and the existence of one of the following conditions: acapability of the coverage area to support the ECGSM-IoT mode ofoperation but not the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation; or acapability of the coverage area to support both the EC-GSM-IoT mode ofoperation and the GPRS and/or EGPRS mode of operation, and theindication is received together with a downlink coverage class of thecommunication device.
 16. The RAN node according to claim 10, whereinthe indication is received in a PAGING-PS protocol data unit (PDU). 17.The RAN node according to claim 16, wherein the PAGING-PS PDU furthercomprises at least one of the following: a coverage class of thecommunication device; identities of one or more cells in which thecommunication device should be paged; and an extended discontinuousreception (eDRX) cycle of the communication device.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 17, wherein execution of the instructions furtherconfigures the radio access network node to, based on determining topage the communication device in the coverage area, determine one of thefollowing based the information comprising the PAGING-PS PDU: a channelfor paging the communication device; a set of cells for paging thecommunication device; and a set of radio resources for paging thecommunication device.
 19. A method performed by a core network node forpaging of a communication device in a communications network, the methodcomprising: obtaining an indication of which of the following modes ofoperation are supported by the communication device: Extended-CoverageGlobal System for Mobile communications Internet of Things (EC-GSM-IoT)mode of operation, and General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) and/orEnhanced GPRS (EGPRS) mode of operation; and transmitting, to a radioaccess network node, a page request comprising the indication.
 20. Themethod according to claim 19, wherein: the page request is transmittedin a PAGING-PS protocol data unit (PDU); and the PAGING-PS PDU furthercomprises at least one of the following: a coverage class of thecommunication device; identities of one or more cells in which thecommunication device should be paged; and an extended discontinuousreception (eDRX) cycle of the communication device.
 21. A core networknode for paging of a communication device in a communications network,wherein the core network node comprises: at least one processor; and acomputer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by the at least one processor,configure the core network node to: obtain an indication of which of thefollowing modes of operation are supported by the communication device:Extended-Coverage Global System for Mobile communications Internet ofThings (EC-GSM-IoT) mode of operation, and General Packet Radio Services(GPRS) and/or Enhanced GPRS (EGPRS) mode of operation; and transmit, toa radio access network node, a page request comprising the indication.22. The core network node according to claim 21, wherein: the pagerequest is transmitted in a PAGING-PS protocol data unit (PDU); and thePAGING-PS PDU further comprises at least one of the following: acoverage class of the communication device; identities of one or morecells in which the communication device should be paged; and an extendeddiscontinuous reception (eDRX) cycle of the communication device.